


Skeletons

by Willow124



Series: Songfics: Eli Young Band songs [5]
Category: Leverage
Genre: Gen, Introspection, Minor Violence, Songfic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-06
Updated: 2012-11-06
Packaged: 2017-11-18 03:27:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,061
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/556377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Willow124/pseuds/Willow124
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Part 5 of my Album series. This one is based around the end of season 3. It's not from any particular point of view, but it is based heavily on Eliot. The song fits this series too well for a fic not to be written around it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Skeletons

**Author's Note:**

> I'm sorry that I don't have a beta reader. I urge you to listen to the song while reading this.

**Across my arm is that old ink stain**

**God I wish I could erase that name**

**Reminds me that I’m the one to blame**

**I used to think the rules were made for breaking**

**Now I question every road I’ve taken**

**And I regret every heart I’ve forsaken**

**Here’s my confession**

 

Eliot still remembers the tattoo he had gotten just out of high school. His girl’s name was branded on his arm for years… it was a reminder of what happened. Her daddy didn’t like him very much, but Eliot always treated her with respect, so they were left alone. The day she died, Eliot enlisted. No one else blamed him for what happened, but that didn’t matter. He blamed himself despite the fact there was nothing he could’ve done.  He went through his first tour with thoughts of her following him, as if she was tied to him through the ink. Aimee tried to understand why he kept throwing himself into danger, why he kept going back whenever the Army called. He didn’t have to, but his feet kept leading him away. His biggest regret was the broken hearts he left in his wake… until he met Moreau.

 

**The mistakes I’ve made are coming back to haunt me**

**Like a ghost from the grave always there to taunt me**

**You say it’s okay, you say you still want me**

**But you don’t know where I’ve been**

**I’m no stranger to my sins**

**I’ve got skeletons**

**I’ve got skeletons**

 

Moreau got him out of the Army, got him specialized training that even special forces soldiers didn’t get, made him into the greatest retrieval specialist on the planet, and ruined whatever chance for a normal life he had. The first thing Moreau demanded of him was to get rid of the tattoo. He didn’t want any of his people to have any distinguishing marks, and that name was in a highly visible spot. By that point, Eliot didn’t have a choice. Moreau praised him when he came back without the ink that had defined him for years, told him that now he could get to work. Eliot never wanted his team, his fresh start, to know about his skeletons. He wanted to keep them hidden, and protect the team from them, but things don’t always work out like that. Being forced to hunt Moreau opened a box that he had kept well sealed. He just hoped that the team wouldn’t stumble across it.

 

**You tell me how a man can be forgiven**

**To start clean on the life he’s living**

**How do you run from a demon?**

**I’ve tried every single thing I know**

**It just won’t let me go**

**I’m tired of walking down the same dead road**

**Towing this load**

 

Eliot didn’t know what he expected the team to do when they found out about his working for Moreau… he definitely didn’t expect to still be on the team. In his mind, he didn’t deserve a second chance, no matter what the others thought. The look on Hardison’s face when he came up out of the water was one of utter betrayal, and Eliot knew he deserved it.  He had tried to run from his past, but now it had caught up with him and ruined everything. Parker asking about what happened caused more pain than she probably realized… that box hadn’t been opened in years and now he was confronted by all of his bad choices at once with no way of protecting himself. He was so tired of carrying this burden, there was no way he could give it to Parker or Hardison or any of the team. Moreau was his demon, and now he knew what Eliot cared about the most. There was no way that Moreau wouldn’t come after the team now. Hardison may be one of the best hackers in the world, but no one can hide from Moreau for long. Eliot just hoped that this deal could be finished before Moreau discovered the truth.

 

**The mistakes I’ve made are coming back to haunt me**

**Like a ghost from the grave always there to taunt me**

**You say it’s okay, you say you still want me**

**But you don’t know where I’ve been**

**I’m no stranger to my sins**

**I’ve got skeletons**

**I’ve got skeletons**

 

The Italian woman nearly ruined everything. She should never have tried to go after Moreau, not even after she got the team involved. Now, Eliot is going to have to break one of his main rules. For the team, he would do it. If he can’t take Moreau down now, then the team would be dead within a week, and the men in this warehouse would gladly do it. Flashes of how they would kill the others ran through his mind as he picked up the first gun he had held with the intent to use since he left Moreau.  A kill box is named so for a reason, but Eliot had always been better than the odds. His protective side gave him the speed he needed, and years of training gave him accuracy where lesser men would’ve failed. He had to protect the others, there was no other option.

 

**The mistakes I’ve made are coming back to haunt me**

**Like a ghost from the grave always there to taunt me**

**You say it’s okay, you say you still want me**

**But you don’t know where I’ve been**

**I’m no stranger to my sins**

**You say you don’t know where I’ve been**

**I’m no stranger to my sins**

**I’ve got skeletons**

**I’ve got skeletons**

**I’ve got skeletons, yeah**

**I’ve got skeletons**

 

His mistakes may be back, but maybe they could be put to good use. The ones that formed the kill box would never get a chance to redeem themselves, but he had to protect the team. Moreau will always be his biggest mistake, but the team changed that. Maybe Aimee was right about them being a family and maybe the ink he could still feel on his arm will fade away. The others will never understand how much they have helped him in the past few years. His skeletons will always be there, waiting for a chance to jump out, but at least two of them have been put to rest… it was more than he could hope for.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Please leave a comment even if you don't like the story.


End file.
